The present invention relates to a vehicle for use in transporting, storing and launching boats or other small watercraft, and more particularly to a self-propelled boat launch vehicle.
The use of trailers in the transportation and launching of boats and other small watercraft is well known. Conventional boat trailers consist of a wheel supported metal frame upon which a crib or boat bunk is mounted to support the boat hull. Conventional trailers are provided with a hitch coupling at a front end which permits the trailer to be secured to a vehicle-mounted trailer hitch for transport. In launching a boat, with the hitch coupling secured to a vehicle, the rear end of the trailer is backed down a public or marina ramp until the boat bunk is submerged to a sufficient extent that the boat can be floated clear of the trailer. The empty trailer is then pulled from the lake and must be stored until such time as the boat is to be retrieved for transport elsewhere.
In addition to the expense and inconvenience of storage, conventional boat trailers suffer a disadvantage in that the combined weight of the boat and trailer typically necessitates that only larger vehicles, such as pick-up trucks or sport utility vehicles, may be used to transport and launch the boat from the trailer.
In addition, if the launch ramp is privately owned, users may be liable to pay launch fees for its use. Public launch ramps are frequently inconveniently located, acquiring that the boat be driven up to tens of miles to and from the boat launch site to its mooring. As a practical matter, when small watercraft and boats are moored at a dock, it often is not possible to safely pilot the watercraft over long distances to a public launch ramp for removal and sheltering during sudden storms.
In an effort to overcome at least some of the disadvantages associated with conventional boat trailers, various individuals have proposed boat railway systems which are designed to enable individuals to remove boats from lakes and rivers without the difficulties associated with trailers. Boat railway systems are unsightly, however, and involve the laying of parallel steel railroad rails on sleepers from a user""s boat house a distance into the lake or river. Boats are raised and lowered from the lake by positioning the boat onto a wheeled sled and winching the sled along the rails. Railway systems are quite expensive and may cost thousands of dollars. In addition, if the railways are not removed from northern lakes and rivers each winter, they may be susceptible to ice damage and fouling by sedimentation. Permanent railway systems also require relatively constant water levels and may also be prohibited by building or environmental restrictions, or even bottom or surf conditions.
The present invention seeks to overcome at least some of the prior art disadvantages by providing a boat launching vehicle which is adapted to travel over uneven terrain to launch or retrieve a boat.
Another object of the invention is to provide a boat launch vehicle which is self-propelled and which may be used to either transport, store and/or launch boats and other small watercraft from a lake, river or other water body (collectively referred to as a lake).
A further object of the invention is to provide a self-propelled boat launch trailer which may be moved over sand, logs, rocks or uneven terrain to launch or remove a boat from a body of water.
A further object of the invention is to provide a partially submersible boat launch vehicle which provides a raised platform on which a boater may stand or walk when entering or exiting from a boat or small watercraft.
Another object of the invention is to provide a vehicle for launching and retrieving boats from lakes, which is adapted to travel over shoreline banks and/or lake beds, without requiring installation of specialized rail systems or permanent lift structures, and which optionally may be left partially submerged on a lake or river bed for a period of several months to function as a seasonal dock.
The present invention provides a launch vehicle for boats, jet skis or other small watercraft, and which hereafter are collectively referred to as boats. The launch vehicle includes a partially submersible frame which is movably mounted on wheels. The vehicle frame has a lateral width and longitudinal length selected to enable a boat to be supported thereon. Preferably the wheels are provided with all-terrain type tires which enable the frame to move over rocks and uneven ground or lake beds, without becoming bogged down in sand, muck or lake bed sediments. Although not essential, preferably the launch vehicle tires are of a low pressure design, and are typically inflated to pressures at or below 25 psi, and more preferably at or below 5 psi. Suitable tires would include those for use with ATV""s or Argo(trademark) amphibious vehicles. Optionally, tire-located tracks such as those described in Canadian Patent No. 1,215,735, and which issued Dec. 23, 1986, could be used where increased traction is desired.
The frame supports a boat cradle or bunk which is configured to engagingly support the bottom sides of a boat hull thereon during its transportation and storage. A walkway is also coupled to the frame. The walkway is adapted to assume a suitable orientation so as to enable a user to stand or rest thereon. Preferably, the walkway has a lateral width of at least one foot, and most preferably between 1 and 6 feet, and extends substantially the longitudinal length of the boat launch vehicle. If desired, the walkway optionally may be hingely coupled to a remainder of the launch vehicle so as to permit its movement between the generally horizontal orientation when used to support a boater, and an inclined or vertical storage position. When in the horizontal orientation, the walkway assumes a position vertically spaced above the bunk, and at a location selected so as to substantially locate above the surface of the lake when the bunk and lower portion of the frame are sufficiently submerged to enable the boat to be floated free from or positioned over the bunk.
The boat launch vehicle is self-propelled with the wheels rotatably driven by an electric AC or DC motor, or by a gasoline powered engine. The motor is mounted at a position vertically above the submersible bunk so as to maintain it in a position above the lake surface while the boat bunk is sufficiently submerged to permit the boat to float free of the vehicle during its launching, docking and retrieval. A drive link(age such as a direct drive, or a continuous loop-type drive including a drive belt or drive chain assembly transmits power from the motor to drive the wheels. Where a belt or chain drive is provided, an adjustable tensioning mechanism is preferably also provided to maintain sufficient tension thereon so as to substantially prevent chain or belt slippage. Most preferably, the drive motor is mounted on top of a vertically extending motor support located at a forward end of the launch vehicle. The motor support is most preferably positioned at an angle between 0 and 60xc2x0 from the vertical in a direction away from the rear end of the vehicle. The motor support extends upwardly from the frame a distance of between approximately two and five feet, such that the motor is maintained at a position above the water surface adjacent at the shoreline during boat launching.
Boats are launched either prow first or essentially the same manner as with conventional boat trailers. To launch or retrieve the boat from the lake, the launch vehicle is moved into a lake so that part of the frame and the boat bunk moved to a sufficient extent to enable the boat to float free of the bunk. When launching the boat, the vehicle is moved into the water so that the bunk submerges and the forward end of the vehicle carrying the motor remains at or immediately adjacent to the shore line. As the vehicle enters the water, the frame partially submerges enabling the boat to float free of the bunk. Because the motor and the walkway are spaced vertically relative to the bunk, they are maintained substantially above the lake surface. As such, once the vehicle is partially submerged in water, the walkway permits the user access from the shore to the boat in a manner of a conventional dock.
The launch vehicle advantageously may be moved up onto the shore line daily, protecting the boat and vehicle from wave action, algae and corrosion. To remove the boat, the boat is moved over the submerged portion of the launch vehicle in essentially the same manner as with a conventional trailer, and is tethered in place directly above the bunk. The motor is then activated to drive the launch vehicle together with the boat from the lake. As the vehicle moves from the lake, the boat hull is positioned relative to the bunk and the launch vehicle may be housed for storage with the boat resting on the boat bunk. Alternately, the launch vehicle could be left partially submerged within the lake to act as a seasonal dock which can easily be removed from the lake upon the approach of severe storms and/or each fall to avoid winter ice damage.
In a preferred embodiment, the walkway may be mounted on one or more telescoping pipes or supports which permit the vertical adjustment of one or both ends of the walkway to better assume a position generally horizontally above the water surface. The walkway supports could in themselves be supported either entirely by the frame, or alternately adapted for engagement with the underlying lake bed to assist in anchoring or stabilizing the launch vehicle in a partially submerged position.
Accordingly, in one aspect the present invention resides in a self-propelled boat launch vehicle for launching or docking a boat in water comprising,
a submersible longitudinally elongated frame, said frame being movably supported on each longitudinal side by a pair of low pressure tires inflated to a pressure of 25 psi or less,
a submersible boat bunk mounted to said frame for supportably engaging said boat during launching,
a drive motor supported at a position spaced vertically above said boat bunk, whereby during launching or docking of said boat, said drive motor is maintained at a position substantially above said waters,
a continuous-loop drive member connecting said drive motor and at least one of said wheels, whereby the activation of the drive motor drives said at least one of said wheels to move the boat launch vehicle, and
a walkway for supporting a user thereon being coupled to the frame.
In another aspect, the present invention resides in a boat launch vehicle for transporting, launching or docking a boat in water comprising,
a generally planar frame,
a submersible boat bunk mounted to said frame, and configured to engage and support said boat thereon during transport, said boat bunk including a pair of generally parallel and longitudinally extending side rails each extending from a first end to a second end, and wherein said side rails are pivotally coupled to said frame at a pivot so as to permit the second end of each of said rails to be lowered relative to said first end,
a pair of low pressure tires movably supporting said frame, each said tire being inflatable to a pressure of 5 psi or less and being coupled to a respective longitudinal side rail of said frame,
a drive motor selectively operable to drive said tires, said motor being supported at a position spaced a distance vertically above said boat bunk such that when said boat bunk is submerged during launching or docking of said boat, said drive motor is substantially maintained at a position above said water.
In a further aspect, the present invention resides in a self-propelled boat launch vehicle for transporting, launching or docking a boat in water comprising,
a partially submersible longitudinally elongated frame,
a submersible boat bunk mounted to said frame for supportably engaging said boat during transport or launching,
a low pressure tire inflated to a pressure of 25 psi or less rotatably mounted to each side of said frame,
a drive motor supported at a position vertically above said boat bunk such that when said boat bunk is submerged sufficiently to enable the boat to float free of the bunk, said drive motor is substantially maintained at a position above said waters,
a drive linkage independently connecting said drive motor and said wheels, whereby the activation of the drive motor drives the boat launch vehicle in movement, and
a generally planar walkway for supporting a user thereon extending substantially the longitudinal length of the frame, said walkway being coupled to said frame such that when said boat bunk is submerged sufficiently to enable the boat to float free of the bunk, the walkway is maintained in a position substantially above said water.